~ Blogging on transport, travel & whatever takes my fancy.

Category Archives: West Yorkshire

After the stunning weather over the bank holiday weekend things have returned to normal here in the Pennines with the onset of low cloud and rain this afternoon. It’s such a shame as this morning was beautiful.

As I’d been away most of last week the pair of us decided to be home birds over the weekend, staying in the local area. Not that that’s a hardship as there’s some beautiful walks around the Calder valley. On Saturday we met up with a couple of friends in Sowerby Bridge for a night out and a catch-up. As the weather was so good we sat outside the recently refurbished Moorings pub by the canal. Whilst the weather was stunning the service was less than stellar. A particular hate of mine is bar staff who can’t (or won’t) keep track of customers, never look up or make eye-contact, so simply ask ‘who’s next’? – leaving it to customers to organise themselves which is OK(ish) when it’s not a scrum and the place isn’t full of drunks, but it doesn’t make for a great atmosphere. As it was it took ages to get served because of the young staff being so disorganised. It won’t encourage any of us to return.

The next part of our evening more than made up for it. We’ve often eaten at the Café Thai restaurant in nearby West Vale, which we discovered when it opened in a tiny corner shop back in 2011. Now it’s moved to bigger, swankier premises but the food matches the excellent standard they set in the early days. Recently they’ve expanded again by opening a separate restaurant upstairs which serves Thai tapas. It’s a concept that I wasn’t sure about but I have to say it really works – and the food was very good indeed. We’ve always enjoyed sharing dishes, so the tapas format works really well for us. We ordered two dishes each. I plumped for spicy raw mango salad with king
prawns and cashew nuts plus steamed mussels with Thai basil, served with a spicy seafood sauce, with chilli egg fried rice as a side order. Every dish was gorgeous – including the rice, which we all raved about! The food was beautifully presented too, as you can see from these pictures.

Our friends, Froso and Richard ordered the dish on the right, Steamed dumplings with minced pork, prawn and water chestnut, whilst I ordered the left-hand dish, Stir fried minced pork with hot yellow curry paste (Krua Kling, from Southern Thailand). The final dish in the picture is the bowl of rice.

This is another dish ordered by our friends, Deep fried corn cake with crab meat.

I hope that whets your appetite! As you can see from the pictures, the food’s well presented and it tastes just as good as it looks. The meal was a great start to what was to be a lovely bank holiday.

On the Sunday we decided to enjoy the sunshine and work off the food with a long walk from home, through the Calder valley and up to Norland Moor to end up at one of our favourite pubs, which was having a bank holiday hog roast. We began by walking along our local canal, the Salter and Hebble navigation through to Copley, encountering this little critter on the way.

I’m informed that it’s a Red-eared Terrapin. Apparently they became a ‘thing’ thanks to the ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ cartoon and films, but like most pet fads, as soon as people got bored, they were let loose into the wild. I’ve seen lots of animals along the canal before (deer, mink, and all sorts of birds) but this is the first time I’ve spotted a Terrapin!

Leaving the canal we headed through West Vale and climbed up to the ridge high above Copley which affords excellent views over the valley, as you can see from this picture.

You can see the 23 arch Copley viaduct which carries the railway from Manchester to Halifax. Built in 1851 it’s a grade 2 listed structure. In the background’s the Wainhouse Tower. Skirting the edge of the woodland we walked on to Norland Moor, the highest point of which is 932ft above sea level. Its 250 acres of heather moorland’s a popular place with dog-walkers and others. It’s a delightful place in summer but an endurance test in winter when the wind and rain sweeps across at gale force as there’s nothing to stand in its way but you!

Norland Moor looking East

Looking down over Sowerby Bridge and along the Calder Valley heading West from Norland Moor.

The rugged terrain of the moor with Sowerby Bridge in the distance.

By now our final destination was close at hand. The Moorcock Inn sits at the edge of the moor. It’s a solid, two storey building that’s been a haven to many a walker over the years. It’s undergone several incarnations in the past few years and at one point looked like it was in danger of closing, but the new tenants have transformed the place.

One of the delights of having the ‘Big 6’ as my local pub is the chance to enjoy their regular whisky tasting trips. Tonight’s the second one of the season. The tastings are held in a hotel just outside Skipton. They’re actually arranged by the Wright Wine Co based in the same town. These evenings are very popular with well over 100 people attending each tasting. Each one is hosted by a different guest from either a distillery or a company like Berry Bros & Rudd or Diaggio who talk about the different whiskies they’ve brought along for us to sample. They can be highly entertaining and excellent raconteurs as some of the guests have a wealth of anecdotes and exerience. These evenings aren’t just dry talks about the mechanics of distilling – although there is a real depth of technical knowledge on offer for those who’re interested – especially when it’s a distiller hosting the night

Then there’s the whisky. I’ve tried (and bought) Indian and Dutch as well as a variety of Scots produce. The variety has been stunning – as has been the price! We’re given the opportunity to sample whiskies that would normally sell for £150-200 a bottle.

Tonight’s event will feature Glenglassaugh. I’ll blog more about it later. Right now 11 of us are on the charabanc from the Big 6 to Skipton.

19.31.

We’ve arrived and are settling in. Here’s the first look at what’s on tonight…

Here’s what we’re sampling and the price list (per bottle).

A few whiskies in and the discussions about the flavours and merits commence..

22:14.

Oh, did I mention that food’s included as part of the event? Lasagne and garlic bread’s very useful for soaking up the whiskies..

I love living in the Pennines. I love the Pennine weather less. Whilst my former home in the South can be basking in sunshine and enjoying temperatures that would put the South of France to shame we can be wrapped up in waterproofs! It’s fair to say that the Calder Valley has its own microclimate. Whilst it can be raining in the valley next door we can be basking in sunshine, although it sometimes feels it’s more likely to be the other way round! I’ve come to appreciate the wisdom of Wainwright’s old saying, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.” You just have to be prepared for anything up here.

The last few days are a good example of the changing fortunes. Last Saturday Dawn and I were out walking up to nearby Norland Moor in almost perfect weather, glorious sunshine, hardly any breeze and temperatures that made you think it was summer not spring. Footpaths that were a quagmire only a few days before had dried out, making ideal walking conditions…

Dawn on a footpath high above Sowerby Bridge, which can be seen in the valley below.

Even the sunset played ball!

Sunset seen from underneath the Wainhouse Tower, back on ‘our’ side of the Calder Valley from Norland

It wasn’t to last, the arrival of a new week heralded the return of the rain, which is rather unfortunate as it’s incompatible with doing what I need to – using electrical power tools outside! So, today I’m playing hide and seek with this little lot, rain showers sweeping in from the South-East along the valley from Ripponden – as seen from our bedroom window.

A rare event in the Pennines, we’ve had two days of brilliant weather in a row. Yesterday was glorious as it was the hottest of the year so far with hours of uninterrupted sunshine which prompted me to eschew work on our new bathroom to make the most of the good weather and go for a stroll. Here’s a few pictures from my wanderings around Sowerby Bridge.

With the Wainhouse Tower dominating the skyline above, Northern Pacer 142028 pulls away from Sowerby Bridge station en-route to Leeds. These railbuses are living on borrowed time as they’ll all disappear from Northern metals in the next two years.

Magnolia flowering in the churchyard in Sowerby Bridge

The 253 ft tall Wainhouse Tower dominates the local skyline. Built as a chimney for a local dye works in 1875 but never used, it’s a classic Victorian folly and reputedly the tallest in the world. When the chimney’s open to the public you can climb up to the top via the 369 step spiral staircase.

If you want to visit the Wainhouse Tower and climb up to the top, check out the Visit Calderdale website for details.

We had some beautiful weather in Yorkshire yesterday, hours of sunshine on what’s been the warmest day of the year so far. We joined a couple of friends who live in Sowood for a ramble around the countryside where they live, high up in the Pennines. I’m still a relative newcomer to this neck of the woods so there’s still plenty of places for me to discover and yesterday was no exception. What was lovely was having a local guide. Our friend Clive has spent quite a bit of time reconnoitring the area so he had a lovely walk planned for us. One of the beauties of this part of West Yorkshire is the elevation – as you can see from the photo’s. I’m not going to describe the walk in great detail. Instead, I’ll let you enjoy the pictures.

The country lane that took us out of Sowood towards the M62, gaining height as we went. The views were superb, even thought the weather was hazy. This is a wide angle view looking back towards Halifax.

Looking across the valleys. In the middle distance is Norland Moor. Beyond that is the Calder Valley (which you can’t see – for obvious reasons), then there’s the edge of Halifax and an area called Norton Tower. Beyond that are the wind turbines on far-away Ogden Moor.

Looking down over Sowood across to Halifax in the middle distance.

The view in the opposite direction to the last few pictures, looking across the M62 motorway, which was built across the massive earthworks that form the dam of the Scammonden Reservoir

Would you believe that this little waterfall exists only a couple of hundred yards away from the M62 motorway? We passed through this lovely glade on our way to Scammonden

The dam that holds back the Scammonden reservoir. How many people drive along the M62 motorway atop this structure and have no idea of its size? Most, probably…

This is what the dam contains. Scammonden reservoir’s a popular place with hikers, dog-walkers and outdoor pursuit enthusiasts as it has an outward bound centre.

Spring is here. The massive amount of rain we’ve had these past few months mean the fields are muddy, but very, very lush. Now the trees are bursting into leaf, which means skeletal shadows like this will disappear very soon.

There’s been little time for blogging today despite being at home. I’d a whole series of pictures to edit for a client as well as sorting out paperwork and hacking through my email inbox, before the rather quaint tradition of going to a bank to pay in a cheque. It should have been done ages ago as it was a wedding gift, but the person (whose blushes I shall hide) forgot to sign it! When I lived in London back in the last decade visits to the bank were a weekly chore as so many clients paid by cheque. Now, in 2018 I can’t think of the last time I was paid by one. In fact, there’s only one magazine (who’ll also remain nameless) who I still have to send invoices to by post. Nowadays everything’s done digitally via the internet – which is no bad thing when I consider how much it costs to send stuff via the mail. That’s an expense I’m happy to see the back of nowadays.

Walking into Halifax would normally give me the opportunity to grab a few pictures but the weather’s been a bit grim up North today. The Calder Valley’s been hidden by mist and murk all day. The centre of Halifax wasn’t much better. It reminded me of old newsreels of London and ‘pea-souper’ fog – although that was actually pollution. At least we don’t have to suffer that anymore.

It’s grim up North…Underneath that murk is Sowerby Bridge and the other side of the valley, but this is how it’s been for most of the day. Oh, now that spring is here…

Despite the bad weather, it’s clear that spring is here. My office window looks out onto the terrace behind our house. It’s not exactly scenic at there’s no wonderful valley vista compared to the front of the house, just a lot of Yorkshire stone some masons converted into walls to hold back the hill, but there’s plenty of bird life. We have both Blackbirds and Wrens nesting outside so I’m often distracted when my peripheral vision picks up their movement. I must set up the camera to try and catch the Wrens. Admittedly, it’s difficult to work and stalk at the same time but they would make a great photo.

Tomorrow I’ll be moving office to base myself in Huddersfield before spending an evening with friends. The weather forecast is crap, so I don’t expect to be doing much with the camera but I may have time to do some writing instead…

Well, sort of. Today’s not a vintage one for Calder Valley timekeeping and all Westbound services from Sowerby Bridge are late. The frustrating thing is that there are no announcements and the information screens are next to useless as delayed trains simply drop off them! Here’s an example. There IS an 11.33

bu there’s no information on the 11.33 at all. As far as the system’s concerned it’s ceased to exist. Passengers have to use their mobile phone to try and find out what’s happening. The NRES (National Rail Enquiries) website showed that it’s running 30m late. Sure enough, an ex-Merseyrail Pacer hove into view at 12.03, allowing me to begin my delayed journey. It’s a busy service with the rear car rammed with prams and kids, so I’ve sought refuge in the front car.

Fortunately, I’ve given myself plenty of time to get to Crewe. Plus, the delay did have a silver lining as I managed to grab a nice shot of one of the local freight services which I’d have missed otherwise.

I’m now bouncing my way across the Pennines, I’ll add an update soon…

13:19.

After a pleasant stroll across a very busy Manchester city centre I’m esconsed on a very different train to a Pacer as I’m aboard Arriva Trains Wales 13:30 from Manchester Piccadilly to Tenby, on the Pembrokeshire coast. It’s worked by an Alstom ‘Coradia’ class 175, a design many feel has one of the most comfortable passenger saloons of the post-privatisation era.

The trains have a mixture of airline seating and bays of 4 (some with tables, some not). I’ve plumped for a table so I can use the laptop. Sadly 175112 isn’t fitted with power sockets but it does have free wifi throughout. There’s also a trolley service selling food and drink which is useful on such a long trip as this.

Not that it affects me. I’m only on here till Crewe!

17:13.

Well, that was an interesting day. The HSIRL report went well. There’s a lot of local interest in what Hs2 phase 2a means to the area. During our tour of the station we were given an insight into the ambititous plans there are for making Crewe a far more attractive and modern ‘gateway’ whilst restoring the listed parts of the station. I’ll blog about the report separately.

Right now I’m heading back to Manchester aboard one of Virgin’s Pendolinos. The sunny weather we had earlier has fled, letting rain take its place.

19:34.

My brief stint in Manchester’s come to an end. The weather lived up to the city’s reputation, although I didn’t mind. Taking pictures in the rain can be really creative. The only problem was that – now the days are getting longer – I didn’t have time to hang around till it got dark.

As I walked between Piccadilly amd Victoria I couldn’t help but notice the number of teenage girls who were (how shall I say) not exactly dressed for the weather! It was only when I got to Victoria and saw them swarming around the entrance to the Arena that I twigged it’s because someone I’ve never heard of is gigging tonight.

The station was protected by a phalanx of British Transport Police, which was rather unfortunate for one dishevelled bloke on a bike who was clearly in the wrong place at the wrong time. The moral of the story? Don’t try and kick-off with half a dozen BTP officers as there will only be one winner…

My final steed of the day was one of Northern’s refurbished Class 158s. They’re not bad units and the refurb has improved them by adding PIS screens, but they are a bit of a dead end now. It would be lovely to have power sockets and wifi but I doubt the engines would stand the extra load.

Roll on our new trains!

20:13.

It seems the weather’s indifferent to the colour of your rose. Red or white makes no difference. What a change to this morning…

Well, that’s what it felt like here in the Calder Valley yesterday! We awoke to sunshine and gorgeous views across the valley, whilst the mercury in the Thermometer crept up into double figures. As Dawn is still on holiday we decided to make the most of the conditions and head out for a hike over to Mytholmroyd and nearby Cragg Vale. After 6 days down South where most of our time was spent doing an impression of battery hens we were both keen to get out and get some exercise.

There’s a fantastic range of walks around the valley both on and off-road (depending on the conditions). We began by dropping down from our abode on the side of the valley, heading through Sowerby Bridge, then walking up the hill to Sowerby itself. It’s a steady climb of 387 ft in 1.1 miles. At the Church Stile Inn pub we swung right to head down Pinfold Lane, which gives some fantastic views across the valley, as these pictures show.

Looking across the Calder Valley to Sowerby Bridge and Halifax beyond. The Wainhouse Tower (a Victorian folly) can be seen on the skyline to the right.

The beauty of zoom lenses! Here’s a close-up of the previous shot showing the mix of old and new properties and the the steep nature of many of the streets in Sowerby Bridge, plus the Wainhouse tower.

Looking almost straight across the valley to the edge of Halifax and an area called Norton Tower, which sits on a ridge high above the Calder Valley. The views from here are some of the best in the area.

Looking along the Calder valley towards Manchester. Our walk drops us down from the location to pass by the white house in the foreground, then meander along the valley (following the railway) to Mytholmroyd (on the left). In the background is the village of Luddenden.

The beauty of zoom lenses part 2! Here’s Oats Royd Mill (now residential) in Luddenden with Wainstalls beyond, then the moors above. The wind turbines are at Ogden, a mile or farther on..

From Pinfold lane we dropped down a narrow road, losing 300ft to reach the little hamlet of Boulderstones before gaining a last bit of height, following the railway to reach Luddendenfoot, where there’s a bridge across the river Calder, but we cut right through a little industrial estate built on the site of the old railway station to walk along the Pennine cycleway which is sandwiched between the railway and the River Calder. It’s a sheltered, tree lined avenue which we followed all the way to Mytholmroyd.

The Pennine cycleway and footpath at Luddenden, looking towards Mytholmroyd.

It was along this stretch that we encountered one of my real hates – lazy, anti-social dog owners who also believe there’s such a thing as the ‘poo fairy’! Why else would you bag up your dog’s mess – then hang it up in a bloody tree? Who the hell do you think is going to remove it for you?

The tree cover gives way at the tiny hamlet of Brearley, before the Pennine way crosses over the railway and enters Mytholmroyd through dense woodland which covers the site of old railway sidings which were closed and torn up in the 1970s. Before then they were used as a staging post for the coal trains that used to cross the Pennines taking coal for export via Liverpool. Now they’re part of the Calder Greenway.

Once acres of sidings full of coal trains, now a greenway…

This part of the route brings you out right next to Mytholmroyd railway station. In fact you have to walk down one of the exit ramps to reach the village. Swinging left on the main road we walked crossed Cragg Brook which is the site of some major flood relief works. This whole area suffered terribly In the Boxing Day floods of 2015.

Flood relief work on Cragg Brook, with the Shoulder of Mutton pub to the right and housing estate to the left. This whole area was under several feet of water on Boxing day 2015.

Once you cross over the brook it’s a 1.4 mile 535ft climb to reach the Robin Hood pub, our ultimate destination. It’s a fantastic community owned pub with a great selection of real ales, gins and whisky – and some excellent home-cooked food. We were too early to eat so we stayed for a drink and a chat with a few locals before heading back down the hill to our next port of call, the Shoulder of Mutton pub opposite the railway station where we stopped for a bite to eat. The Shoulder was closed for many months due to the floods but it’s since been refurbished and serves a good selection of real ales as well as food. As the pair of us had given up meat for Lent I made up for it by choosing the roast pork loin with Yorkshire pudding and veg – not bad at all for £8.95! The service was fast and efficient and the food tasty.

Roast pork loin, Yorkshire pudding and veg.

We worked off our meals by strolling the 3.5miles back to Sowerby Bridge along the Rochdale canal. This isn’t the best stretch of the towpath as it’s pitted and full of puddles as far as Luddenden Foot. That said, part of it is being repaired and resurfaced at the moment. Despite the puddles, it was a lovely amble. Daffodils added a vibrant splash of colour and the many trees along the route are beginning to burst into life.

Back in Sowerby we popped into the Hogshead Brew House for a drink to celebrate as our Fitbits told us we’d passed the 30,000 footstep mark. The Hogshead brews its own range of beers and I chose a new one from their range, a 5.5% IPA which is pretty good.

Afterwards we made our last climb out of the village to home, adding another 570ft ascent to the list. All in all, not a bad days exercise!

Our Surrey sojourn ends today so the weather’s decided to change. We were greeted by clear skies and sunshine this morning although we were actually woken up by a bat! Somehow one of the little critters had got into the barn, waking Dawn up by crashing into a window blind as it flew up and down the room. I had to get up, open the door and wait for it to find its way out before deciding it wasn’t worth going back to bed and fired up the laptop to edit all the rail pictures I took in Guildford yesterday. The town’s a busy junction on the main line to Portsmouth. There’s two lines to London (one via Epsom) plus regular services to Reading, Redhill, Ascot and Haselmere as well as a daily Arriva Cross-Country service to/from Newcastle upon Tyne. Here’s a sample of what will appear on my Zenfolio website this evening.

450548 threads its way through the complex trackwork at the entrance to Guildford station yesterday

We’ll be driving back later this morning so I’ll write a rolling blog of the journey. Looking at the weather forecast it seems we’ll be leaving the sunshine behind in the South and heading into heavy rain back home, which means it might be an ‘interesting’ trip.

Before we left we had to pop in and say goodbye to someone. Regular readers of this blog will know that my sister-in-law Jo Platt lost her long battle with cancer last December. Jo’s buried in the churchyard in Tilford.

12.06

The good weather didn’t last. By the time we’d reached the M4 we were back in low cloud and rain. Soon we were engulfed in spray as we negotiated the roadworks for the few miles we were on the motorway.

The situation wasn’t much better on the Northbound A34. There’s a lot of water on the road. What there’s also a lot of is dead badgers. We saw over half a dozen on our way up the A34 and A43.

14.01.

We’re currently taking a break at Watford Gap services. The place is packed with cars and lorries on the Northbound side, plus this visitor which took me completely by surprise. Luckily, Dawn saw it arrive.

15.48.

We’ve just pulled off the M1 at jn 35a. It’s good to be off the motorway. It’s been very busy and the road conditions have put a strain on Dawn due to the heavy showers, spray and motorway muppets needed her full attention.

We’re off to the South for a few days today. Friends are cat and house-sitting, leaving us free to enjoy Easter with Dawn’s family down in Tilford, Surrey. I expect to be able to do some mobile/rolling blogging, even though we’ll be in the car rather than relaxing on a train.

We both gave up eating meat for Lent, so today we’re heading to the Bolster Moor farm shop to pick up some goodies first – including some of their award-winning pork pies. I told Dawn’s brother (an exile from Yorkshire) that I’d bring him a a red-cross parcel of pork-pies and local bottled beers!

Right, time to get a move on…

10.32am

The weather’s been kind, so we had a lovely cross-country drive to the Colne valley and the farm shop where we stocked up on local produce for export to Surrey. Luckily, we hit them at a quiet time.

Whilst Dawn shopped for meat, I picked up the essentials…

Then we broke our Lent fast with one of these!

Bolster Moor pork pies are excellent. Freshly made each day, their crusts are crisp but crumbly and the dense meat melts in your mouth. There’s just the right amount of spicing and moisture, unlike their rival from Melton Mowbray, which I’ve always found dry and brick-like. These are proper pork pies!

Yum!

13.40 Update, Watford Gap service

We’re well on our way South, having stopped at Watford Gap services on the M1 for lunch. Driving across country to the M1 was ‘fun’. West Yorkshire’s road have suffered badly from the ice and snow we’ve had in spades this year. There’s potholes aplenty, especially on the higher roads which are more exposed to the elements. I wouldn’t want to be cycling on them as they’re far worse than the roads in India I did so many mile on earlier in the month.

It was almost a relief to get on the M1. As usual, traffic was heavy with a mix of commercial vehicles and cars. The idiot factor was very much in play on some stretches as some car drivers displayed no sense of lane discipline to dart in and out of traffic almost willy-nilly. As a consequence, Dawn’s language became quite colourful on occasion!

I must admit, Watford Gap’s changed a lot since I was a teenage hitchhiker. I used to pass through frequently on my way to/from London and I spent many an hour here, waiting in hope that the next lift would come sooner rather than later. If you were heading North it was always useful to have a sign saying where you were going as it increased your chance of getting a lift. That’s because the M1 and M6 motorways diverge a few miles North and it saved wasting the time of helpful drivers who were going the wrong way.

In those days the food offering was traditional greasy spoon fare. If you were a vegetarian chips and beans was about your lot. Now there’s a variety of outlets, McDonalds cater for the burger brigade whilst Costa provide for caffeine addicts and the snack brigade. WH Smiths flog the usual sandwhiches but there’s also two different outlets (including a noodle bar that) cater for healthier eaters. I plumped for Paenang curry from Chozen Noodles as a contrast with my earlier pork pie.

14:42.

We left the M1 at Junction 15a, now we’re heading across country on the busy A43, a dual carriageway that’ll take us to join the M40. We’ve left the good weather behind now, rainclouds have swept in from the South so our wipers are working on warp factor four! Soon we’ll be passing the location where the road will be crossed by phase 1 of Hs2, not that you’d know. The local ‘nimbys’ never got round to putting up placards here!

15:32.

A numerical juxtaposition’s seen us swap the A43 for the A34, an even busier artery that serves Southampton, which is why it’s always clogged with lorries. The road also serves as a bypass for Oxford and that stetch had the long Northbound tailbacks we see each time we use the route. Mind you, Southbound’s not much better today and the weather conditions aren’t helping.

18:41

‘Home’ again! After stopping off in Tilford we’ve now settled in to our friends barn for Easter. Let’s just hope the weather picks up now…

This evening we’re off for a family reunion and meal at the Barley Mow pub in Tilford. I might add a pic or two from there. If I don’t – enjoy your Easter!